Nightfall
by slightlybizzare10
Summary: rated M just to be safe. After the Yule Ball, Cedric is doing his prefect duties and finds a very distraught Hermione. What happened?
1. Ch1::midnight runins

A/N: Im not Rowling, so this isnt mine. just the plotline.

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There he was, walking, almost floating, through the halls as if dead. His only thoughts were of the Yule Ball, and how much fun he had dancing and laughing with his friends and classmates. A majority of the students had retired to their dormitories for the evening, and the only sounds that could be heard were of the pounding rain and lightning laying siege to the grounds. Cedric Diggory, Hufflepuff prefect, was to patrol the corridors that night, much to his displeasure.

Turning the corner, he continued walking, only breaking the silence to mutter, "Just perfect. The one night I wanted to get to bed on time, I get stuck with patrol."

Walking further still, he takes time to look out the window and notice the severe deluge. Waves and waves of rain soaked the grounds, as the wind beat against the stony castle, almost threatening to topple it over. The trees swayed to-and-fro, and the lake was twisted from calm and serene to vicious and unyielding.

A sharp crack of lightning snapped him back to reality, and as he remembered his purpose for being out as of late, he continued walking. Shuffling down a flight of steps, Cedric heard muffled sobs, something not expected to be heard of this time of night. Moving to investigate, he walked around another corner and saw a bundled heap of clothing huddled in a corner, rising and falling heavily. Walking up and sinking down onto his knees, he takes his hand and moves a bit of the cloak, revealing a bushy haired, fourth year Gryffindor in heaps.

"Are you ok?" he asked nervously.

"Wha?... Oh, I'm fine" sniff "I was just..."

"You were crying. What happened?" Her eyes were red from all the tears, her nose was red, and she had bags under her eyes.

"Umm... it's nothing." sniff "I'm fine." said Hermione, attempting to convince Cedric that she was fine.

"The hell you are, come on. Come with me," he said, standing up and extending his hand to her.

"Come? Come where?"

"Just trust me. Come on." he said, losing patience quickly.

"No, I'm fine. I'll just be heading back to my dorm."

"No, I don't think so. You're coming with me," he said, and with that he picked her up bridal style, much to her displeasure. Holding her close, he started walking down the empty corridor, turning corner after corner, looking and searching for something. Coming up to a pair of double doors, he uttered the words "Mermaid Feet", and the doors swung open, revealing one of the most spectacular bathrooms Hermione had ever seen.

Setting her down on one of the benches, he conjured up a towel from the towel rack, and gave it to her, which she started dabbing on her eyes.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I told you..."sniff "Nothing happened, I'm fine."

"If you were fine, you wouldn't have been on the floor crying your eyes out." he said, hoping to convince her to reveal why she was obviously so distressed.

"Krum... he tried to..." sniff "...tried to..." she started.

"Tried to what?" asked Cedric, panic rising in his chest.

"Have...sex...with me" sniff "But I... didn't want to..." sniff "So he...stormed out..." sniff "after waking up my whole house and... screaming that I was... the..." sniff "ugliest girl he's ever... had the... displeasure... to know." And with that she buried her face in Cedric's muscular chest, muffled sobs coming from the cloth.

"That bastard..." said Cedric, shaking with rage.

"I tried to run... as far as I could..." sniff "but thats... the farthest... I could get."

"Then what did you do?" he asked, thinking he knew the answer he was about to receive.

Picking her head up, she looked at him still teary eyed before responding, "This." With that she pulled her sleeve back and Cedric looked with horror at her arms, which had deep slashes all the way up to her elbow; some crusted over, beginning to heal; others freshly cut, shimmering with still wet blood.

"Hermione..."

Tears pouring from her eyes, she said, "I didn't...know...what...to...do."

Pulling her close, he wrapped his arms around her and rubbing her back.

"Shh... it's going to be ok." he uttered, trying to soothe her.

"Can you walk?"

"Um... I think so." sniff "Why?" she asked.

"You need to get to sleep. I'll walk you back." With this Hermione jerked her head up to look at him.

"NO! I can't" sniff "go back _there_."

"Then I guess you're coming with me." he said, standing up.

"Where?" she asked wiping her eyes.

"To my dorm. If you're not going to your room, you're coming to mine."

"No, I think I'll just... stay here until morning." she said, looking around.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way Granger. Your choice." he said, standing up and pushing his sleeves back.

"I told... you..." sniff "I'll be... fine...here."

"You _are_ stubborn." he stated, picking her up again and walking out into the corridor.

Her eyes, being inflamed and bloodshot, didn't allow her to see where she was being led. This, to Hermione Granger, was most irritating. Rounding another corner, the pair came up to a hall of nothing but portraits. Walking up to one, Cedric whispered something to it, and it swung to the side, revealing a doorway.

Walking in, he bypassed the couches and chairs, and walked up the steps. Pushing the door open to the sixth year boys dorm, he silently shuffled to his four poster, pulled the yellow hangings back, and sat her down.

"Cedric, where are we?"

"The Hufflepuff dormitories. Don't worry, I'll leave you be until morning." Getting up, he spelled the hangings shut, and started walking to the door.

"Wait!" she whispered, yanking the hangings back.

Twisting his head, he looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"I... don't want to be alone. Not now."

Chuckling, Cedric tugged off his shirt, and climbed in next to her. Hermione snuggled up to him as he pulled the hangings shut, then pulled the covers over them both. Snaking an arm around her stomach, he laid his head on the pillow and dozed off.

Hermione, however, stayed awake for a little while longer, listening to the rain, and Cedric's even breathing. Even though it had turned out to be the worst night of her life, strangely, she couldn't have been happier.

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A/N: what did ya think? reviews are great :-) should I make this multichaptered? I dont know yet.


	2. Ch2::A detention and some butterflies

A/N: again, not mine!

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The next morning, Hermione awoke to an empty dorm room. Pulling the hangings back, she found a note on the bedside table that read,

_Hermione,_

_How are you feeling? I didn't want to wake you this morning, you looked completely bombed. You need your rest. Stay here as long as you want, but do leave sometime. You can't avoid Krum forever, and no offense but I want my bed back... without the fourth year in it. _

_Sincerely,_

_Ced_

"Lousy git." she muttered, standing up and stretching her arms. Grabbing her robe, she snuck out of the Hufflepuff dormitories as quietly as possible, and made her way back to Gryffindor tower. Walking up to the Fat Lady, she muttered the password and slid into the common room, expecting it to be crammed full of people. Strangely, she was met with silence. Peaceful silence. Reassuring silence.

That is, until Ron walked in.

"HERMIONE!"

Jerking her head around, she looked him over quickly, then continued walking toward the steps to the girls dormitories.

"Wait, Hermione!" he called out, shuffling after her.

"Shove off Ronald, there's nothing left to see."

"Yes there is." he said. Grabbing her elbow, he spun her around to face him.

"And what would that be?" she asked.

"The simple fact that I was right. Admit it: I was right." said Ron, smirking like he had just seen Malfoy expelled.

"Ron, I don't have the time OR the patience to deal with you," Hermione started, "now if you'll excuse me..."

"NO, you're going to admit that you were wrong. No, I take that back, I want an apology."

"Apology? You're asking ME for an apology?!"

"Yea." Ron stated simply.

"For what Ronald? For the fact that you were right about Krum? For the fact that he was only using me for sex? Or for the fact that he humiliated me last night, and the only person that even bothered to try and comfort me was Cedric? HMM?! OUT WITH IT RON!" By this point, Hermione's eyes were filled with tears.

"Pretty boy? First Krum, now him?!"

This reply threw her over the edge of reason. Before she realized what she was doing, she reached into her robes, yanked out her wand, and angrily fired every spell she could possibly think of at him, begging at least one of the spells to strike its mark...

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That night, Hermione found herself walking down the steep steps to the dungeons for her first of many detentions, her head swimming with thoughts.

"_I can't believe I did that to Ron."_

"_He deserved it, saying that about Ced."_

Shocked that she was actually having an argument with herself, she continued.

"_Sure, he deserved it, but that didn't give me the right to do that."_

"_Yes it did. He was being thick. He needed to be smacked, especially after that comment he made about Ced. Your Ced."_

"_Wait a minute, MY Ced?"_

"_Yes, your Ced."_

"_He isn't mine."_

Coming to the bottom of the steps, she turned and started walking down the dimly lit corridor to the Potion's classroom.

"_But you WANT him to be yours."_

"_No I don't. I was upset, and he helped make me feel better."_

"_...By letting you sleep with him in his bed?..."_

"_NO! Well... yes..."_

"_Uh huh...you fancy him..."_

"_No I don't..."_

_"Yes you do."_

_"No I don't._

_"YES YOU DO!"_

_"Do I?..."_

Hermione always prized herself in the fact that most of the time, she kept a level head. Most girls constantly babbled on and on about how their hair looked, or how much mascara is TOO much mascara, or which guy they were going to try and lure next. Hermione, on the other hand, was always focused on her books, independence, and keen eye for the not so obvious things that would happen all around her. It was just who she was. Falling head over heels for a guy, having no control whatsoever of her feelings, was something she didn't fancy the least bit.

_"Well, thankfully I'll probably not see him for a while anyway. He's in his sixth year after all, N.E.W.T classes galore, and I'm only in my fourth year."_

Walking into the abandoned Potion's room, Hermione sat her bag down and pulled up one of the empty wooden chairs. Taking in the sight of the emptiness, she realized that the musty old classroom wasn't nearly as intimidating as she once thought, that is, until Snape walked in and shattered that illusion.

"Look, I don't want to be here Granger, so let's just make this simple. I don't feel like dealing with you, so for tonight, and tonight only, you are going to assist a prefect in doing their rounds. _"Please don't let it be the prefect I think it will be..." _You are to follow this prefect's orders down to the letter, and if you don't I will hear about it, and you will receive a worse punishment. Understand?"

"Yes sir." she muttered, looking at her feet to avoid his glare.

"Good, now get out of my sight."

Walking out into the dark corridor, she reached for her wand, and just as she was about to utter _Lumos_, she found that someone had beat her to it.

Standing two feet away was Cedric Diggory, wand lit and his face plastered with a smirk. The light from his wand softly bathed his handsome face in a warm light that stirred something inside Hermione, something that couldn't be explained.

_"Uh huh... told you you fancied him..."_

Butterflies slowly started flapping in her stomach, and as Hermione pocketed her wand, she tried despirately to avoid eye contact with the oh-so-handsome boy right in front of her. Feeling his gaze on her, she felt herself starting to blush, the rosy pink color creeping up her neck to her cheeks. Trying to banish those thoughts about the hot Hufflepuff in front of her, she nervously looked around, looking for something, ANYTHING, to take the attention off of her.

"Wow... I never thought I'd see this. Hermione Granger in detention." he said, amazed, "What a rebel."

"Go ahead... lay it on thick..." Hermione said, stumbling on her words.

"What did you do to land detention with Snape?"

"Umm...nothing..." she said.

Raising an eyebrow, Cedric gave her that all-too-familiar 'I don't believe a single word of that' look. The same one he had worn the night he found her...

the same one that snagged every girl at Hogwarts without fail...

and the same one that began kindling the sparks flickering inside her into that of a slow burn.

"It would take me forever to explain." Hermione said finally, shaking her head.

"Well, isn't that convenient, we have all night." Glancing at her watch, it read nine pm exactly.

"But...err..."

"Come on..." he said, grabbing her reluctant hand and leading her down the hall.

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A/N: sorry everyone i was tryin to hurry and finish this chapter before I have to start on homework this weekend. I just started 10th grade and theyre already loading us with essays and other homework (still isnt an excuse but w/e). hope this chapter sounds ok... tell me what you think! the next one will be longer, ill make sure of it.


	3. Ch3::Birds

A/N: well here ya go ladies and gents!

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Walking down the darkened corridor, both Cedric and Hermione were met with an awkward silence. Not just _any_ silence, the end all to awkward silences. Desperately, Cedric fumbled around inwardly, trying to find something to talk about, something to get conversation sparked between them.

"_No matter how much we try and avoid it, we're stuck with each other until Snape comes and gets us, so we might as well make the best of it until then."_

Ever since they had left Snape's room, Hermione had been eerily silent. Barely acknowledging that he was there while they walked, she would look out the windows as they passed them, or fidget with the edge of her shirt. This was beginning to irk Cedric a bit. He was trying to stay pleasant, but every once in a while he could detect a bit of uneasiness, or hesitancy, or even...dislike..., but he shook those thoughts off quickly.

"_We've talked once or twice before, and she's never been THIS quiet. I wonder whats going on..."_

Turning a corner, the pair came to some stairs, and while walking up them, Cedric built up some nerve and broke the numbing silence.

"So... what did you do to land in detention? You never told me..."

Stopping, Hermione slowly turned her head to face him, and looking him dead in the eye, said,

"I cursed Ron in the common room because he... insulted a... really good friend of mine, who I'm quite fond of..."

"Seriously?" Cedric questioned, never breaking their eye contact; brooding grey mixing with warm, yet icily, cold brown.

"Yea... he compared them to Krum. Said that all guys were the same, and he hinted that this guy would only be my friend for sex, which is a complete lie, and insulting. So I hexed him... over and over..."

"Is he okay?" he tentatively asked.

She paused for a second, obviously deep in thought, before replying, "I think so... Madam Pomfrey came in as I was being manhandled out, and he was... moaning... so for right now I'm assuming he's fine."

"I'm sorry."

"What?" she asked, as if that was the most ridiculous thing she had heard all night, "Why?"

"Well, he is one of your best friends after all, and... I don't know, last time I checked, best friends don't do that to each other." he said, continuing up the stairs, the inquisitive little Gryffindor following suit.

"Well, he was being a great big...big..." she sputtered, trying to find the right word.

"Prick?..."

"Yea, a great big prick! He just _had_ to rub it in my face that he was right about... someone only wanting me for _that_." Glancing over at her, Cedric could have sworn he saw her lip quiver, so he wrapped his arm around her, and gave her a small squeeze.

"You want me to talk to Krum?"

"NO! Please don't." she spat pleadingly, "I just want this all to end. All this stuff about Krum, Ron..."

"Ok, ok. If you say so, master." he said, in a puny voice, which earned him a well deserved smirk from the bookworm.

"Ha HA! I got a smile. SCORE!"

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at him. He was just so... she couldn't quite put her finger on the word to describe it, but ever since she had met up with him outside Snape's door that night, she had forgotten how much time had elapsed. An hour felt like a minute with him, a month like a day. There was no telling how much longer they would have before before they heard the menacing sound of Snape's cloak, billowing in the wind as he marched down the hall to retrieve her.

Hearing a rumbling sound, they looked at each other, then walked over to the window and gazed out at the grounds.

"Looks like a storm's blowing in..."

"Great. Looks like I'm not getting any sleep tonight." Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Well... my dorm is at the top of one of the towers. When it rains like this, it may sound like soft drips here, but up there it sounds like a dull roar, with the wind and the rain, and... birds..." Giggling, she covered her eyes and turned away from the window.

"Birds?" She nodded, still laughing. "Am I missing something?"

Trying to regain her composure, she explained, "One night last year, it was storming just like it is tonight. A bird flew into the window and smashed its way in. It landed in Parvati's bed, and..." cripplingly she held back the laugh that was coming, "... she ran out of the girl's dorm, fell down the stairs, hit the ground, and screamed at the top of her lungs. We all rushed out to see if she was okay right?" Cedric nodded, biting his lip. "The bird had flown into her pajamas, and apparently it was still alive..."

There was a moment of silence before both teens hit the ground laughing, Cedric clutching his stomach, Hermione tearing up and gasping for air.

"Are... you... serious?!" Cedric gasped.

"Yes! That's the sad part. It kept flapping around, and the more it flapped, the louder she screamed. Her AND her pajamas were hopping around the common room until Professor McGonagall showed up and got the bird out."

"Ha ha... well now I'll never be able to watch the rain anymore without laughing. WAY TO GO HERMIONE!" he bellowed jokingly.

"SORRY! YOU WERE THE ONE THAT WANTED TO KNOW!"

Their laughter slowly died away, and left both still laying on the floor, staring at each other. Cedric, with a cheeky grin, and Hermione, looking windswept. Their eyes locked again, and that one single moment seemed to stretch for eternity. The new rain pounding against the window, the little spider scurrying across the floor by Hermione's foot, everything blurred away as Hermione swam in those thick, grey storms that swirled in his eyes. At the same time, Cedric drowned himself and his senses in her creamy chocolate iris's, the same ones that seemed to envelope him with a warmth that he had never felt before. As warm and gentle as a mother's embrace for her child, yet as shocking as an ice cold shower early in the morning, it set every nerve in his body on fire, made the hairs on his arm stand on end.

"Hermione..."

"Yes?..."

"Umm, before, when you were talking about Ron insulting one of your friends... who was the friend?"

"Let's just say it's someone... who I care about a lot, and didn't deserve anything Ron said about them."she said, eyebrows slightly scrunched as she carefully chose her words.

"And who would that be?..."

"As interesting as this little conversation is Mr. Diggory, her time is up."

Both Hermione and Cedric shot up and saw Professor Snape standing behind them, tapping his foot impatiently with his arms folded. Standing up and saying bye to Cedric, Hermione followed Snape, who had already walked away and turned the corner.

"Hermione, wait."

Stopping, she turned around and looked at him.

"Will you ever tell me who?"

"It was you."

Silence followed that statement. Nothing needed to be said. They could both understand one another without having to speak, it was as if their eyes said what their mouths couldn't. Cedric gave her a smile and a curt nod, and with that, she left.

That night, all slept well. That is, except for a single Hufflepuff boy. A sixth year. Who was busied with thoughts about a fourth year Gryffindor, with wild brown hair.

"_She defended me... and when the time comes, I'll return the favor..."_

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A/N: I got a little impatient with this one. I actually wrote both the 2nd chapter and the 3rd back to back, I just delayed it a little bit. well now im stuck on what to do after this... sorta... Suggestions?


	4. Ch4::Clearing up or Clouding up?

hey everyone sorry for not updating these past couple of months. School sucks... I havent had any time to myself in awhile, and to add to it the laptop that I used alot just crashed for good, so now I'm having to use my macintosh (which im still trying to figure out). hope you like it, just got finished.

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_ "Ms. Granger…"_

"Ms. Granger…"

"MS. GRANGER!"

"Huh?" she answered groggily, stirring from a boring, speech-induced nap.

"Name three common antidotes to doxy venom, and best be wary, your grade is hanging on your answer. " Snape barked, eyeing her maliciously.

Mentally fumbling for the correct answer, she spit out the first logical things that came to mind, "Essence of Moondew, ground bowtruckle, and…the yolk of a doxy egg?"

Spinning around, Snape marched to the front of the classroom, grabbed a chunk of chalk off of one of the tables, and drew a gigantic F upon the board.

Turning around, he asked, pointing to the board, "Can anyone tell me the grade that Ms. Granger has just received?"

Malfoy, throwing his hand into the air, shouted, "That's a fail!"

"Good Mr. Malfoy. Twenty points to Slytherin. Now, as I was saying, fluxweed is one of the most common…"

For the remainder of the class, Hermione stared blankly at the wall, with the empty stares of her classmates surrounding her, and the only thing to comfort her being the fact that the class was over halfway done.

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"Hermione, what the hell was that?" Harry spat.

Potions had just ended, and after trying to avoid an argument with one of Ron's best friends for weeks, she was trapped in the corner of a corridor, with no hope of escape from the oncoming onslaught.

"I fell asleep. Everyone does once in a while…"

"Don't feed me that! Too busy running around with _Cedric_?"

"Cedric's just…"

"What? He's just a what? Have you forgotten who your friends are?"

"What friends?" she bellowed.

"What friends? The friends who have had your back since the first day here," roared Harry. Looking around, he remembered the hallway filled with students that they were in, and not wanting to create a scene, leaned in closer and said in a forced whisper, "The same friends who you didn't even bother coming to when something was bothering you."

Feeling flustered, she tried to explain, "How was I suppose to come to you? Krum had buttered me up, and then kicked me out to the dogs! He made me out to be a… scarlet woman to all of his friends, and if I had come to you, in the wee hours of the morning, what would you have done? Hmm? Gave me the 'I told you so' speech, then beaten him senseless? That doesn't solve anything! At least Cedric knew that."

Harry's face clouded over at this statement. Looking down at his feet, he mumbled, "Maybe your right…"

"Also, you know as well as I do that… wait, what?"

"Maybe your right. Maybe we would have beaten him to a pulp," he said, chuckling. "But come on, it's because we care about you too much. We don't want to see you hurt…especially like that."

"Yea… and I'm thankful for that, but what he did is done. Nothing can change it."

The awkwardness began settling in at this point, and adjusting the strap on his bag, Harry confessed, "I'm still sorry for what happened. Ron is too."

"What?" Hermione asked, shooting her head up.

"Wait a minute, you think he suddenly hates you just because the two of you had that little fight in the common room?"

"I put him in the hospital for three weeks." she said bluntly.

"Okay… maybe it wasn't little, but still… you think he hates you for it?" Harry asked, slight bewilderment showing on his face.

"Well, yea… if I was put in the hospital by one of my best friends, I would be pretty mad."

"He was a bit mad at first, but now he's just… I dunno, worried I guess. He cares about you."

Looking at her watch, Hermione noticed that her next class had started ten minutes ago.

Alarmed, she squealed, "NO! I'm late!"

Running down the hall as fast as her tiny legs would carry her, she heard Harry behind her yell, "Go see Ron!" before she started up the staircase.

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Hesitantly, Hermione crept up to the double doors leading into the hospital wing.

_"You can do this Hermione. Breathe. It can't be any worse than what happened before."_

Carefully, she nudged the door open, and peaked inside. There appeared to be only two beds occupied, both next to the door, so with one last breath, she walked inside.

She couldn't make out who was in the bed to her right, but the bright, red hair on her left made it obvious who was there.

"Ron?" she called out to the figure.

The figure shifted, and in a barely audible voice, she heard, "Hermione? Is that you?"

"Yes. Umm… how are you?" she asked awkwardly, looking for a chair to sit in.

"Fine… now. They… umm… fixed those bones you broke."

After hearing this, Hermione couldn't contain herself, and in a rush, spilled her guts, "I'm so sorry Ron! After hearing everything Krum had said, I just couldn't handle anymore, then when you jumped on me too, I lost it. I didn't mean to hurt you, well I did then, but I just wish I could take it back, all of it. You're one of my best friends…"

"Hermione, I deserved it." Ron said, interrupting Hermione's ranting.

"No you didn't! You were only trying to help in your own way, and… I just couldn't handle it."

"Look, we can keep at this all night, or we can just admit we were both being thick, and go on with our lives."

Bewildered, she asked, "Do they have you drugged… or did you actually sound mature just now?"

"I'm just sick of this fighting," Ron said, laughing. "So… friends again?"

Nodding, she rushed in and hugged him, only for him to wince in pain.

"AH! Sorry! Still hurts?"

"A little… well, probably not as bad as that bloke over there," he said, pointing over to the bed across from him.

"What happened?" Hermione questioned, slowly walking over to the bed.

"Dunno… They just brought him in today. I heard McGonagall say he was found on the third floor beaten to a pulp."

Examining the bed, Hermione could barely see the person breathing: their breaths being short and ragged. Pulling back the sheet from the person's face, Hermione reeled back in pure shock, her words almost inaudibly being spoken.

"No… this can't be happening…"

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Hope everyone liked it... not so sure about it myself. reviews would be great! tell me what you think


	5. Ch5::Backlash

A/N: As always, I don't own any of this.

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"Why?..." Hermione whispered, falling back onto the wall next to the bed.

Ron slowly raised himself up into a sitting position, and looking over to who was laying in the bed across from him, asked, "Who is it?"

"I can't believe it," she started, "I told him not to do anything. He promised…"

"Hermione, who is it?" Ron repeated.

"It's Krum…" she said. "I can't believe he did this. I told him not to!"

"Told who?"

"I told him not to… he promised…" she repeated, rushing to the double doors at the front, tears pooling in her eyes. Ron called out to her, but she had already ran through the double doors leading outside with one though circulating through her mind.

"I can't believe I trusted him…"

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The next day, Cedric went to breakfast like always. Sitting down at the Hufflepuff table, he grabbed a bowl of cereal and began talking with his friends as always. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, that is, until the end of breakfast neared and Hermione had not come into the Great Hall to eat with her friends, who had already shown up. A voice in the back of Cedric's head told him something wasn't right, but rational thought convinced him that she must be too busy in the library studying, or something along those lines.

Getting up and walking toward the doors with his friends, he came upon Ginny and Luna, who had hastily walked in and were looking, searching around the room for something. Seeing Cedric, Ginny walked up and grabbed his arm, pulling him out into the hallway.

"Have you seen Hermione?" Ginny asked pointedly at Cedric.

"No, I haven't. Why?"

"She didn't come back last night from the Hospital Wing," she said, "We can't find her anywhere."

A bell in the distance rang, signaling the nearing of the first lesson. Masses of students began filing out of the Great Hall and moving towards the various classrooms.

"Are you going to go look for her?" Cedric asked.

"I want to, but I can't miss Herbology. We have a big exam coming up, and I need a good grade," she said.

"I'll go look for her then. Where else do you think she might be?"

Before she could answer, waves of students started coming out of the doors and pushing them apart. With one idea as to where she might be, Cedric made with haste to the staircase.

--

After an hour of searching, Cedric became frustrated that he couldn't find Hermione. He had searched every floor, every corridor he could think of that she might be. Classes were about to be released, and he needed to find her before the rush of students filled the hall and made his task almost impossible. Combing his brain for ideas, he managed to think of the one place she was bound to be. Skipping down the staircase in a frenzy, he made his way to the Black Lake.

--

As he approached the bank of the lake he could see a girl, sitting on the edge of the water and skipping rocks upon it. Knowing that it had to be her, Cedric rushed over. As he came upon her, he could see that all was not well; her hair was somewhat matted, and her face appeared tearstained. Before he could even open his mouth, she jumped up and began walking in the other direction.

"Hermione, wait!" he exasperated. Running up to her, he put his hand on her arm, only for her to shove his hand away.

"Dont touch me."

"What happened?" Cedric asked, briskly walking to try and catch up.

"Like you don't know." she spat.

"Know what? Hermione, talk to me."

Whirling around and catching Cedric off-guard, she bellowed, "Do the words, 'bloody bulgarian', ring any bells?"

Realizing what she was talking about, he jumped to explain. "Hermione, he was trashing you! For the past week I've heard every kind of rumor about you, and everyone who told me said that it came from him. He wouldn't stop, even after I talked to him about it, so I just thought maybe it would be good if he knew what it felt like to be in your position. What it felt like to be trashed..."

With every ounce of strength in her body, Hermione slapped him across the face with her hand, and screamed, "I'M NOT THE ONE IN THE HOSPITAL BLOODIED UP AND HAVING TO BE FED THROUGH A TUBE!"

Dumbfounded, Cedric just stood there, looking at her.

"Do you realize what you have done? You broke a promise to me! I asked you, begged you not to do anything to him, because it would do no good. I told you that beating him senseless would solve nothing! BUT YOU DID IT ANYWAY!"

Pausing for a moment to calm herself down, she walked up to him and continued, "Honestly, I'm thankful that you care for me that much…"

As Cedric opened his mouth to say something, Hermione looked him in the eye and said sternly, "But let me fight my own battles."

Tearing up, Hermione marched in the direction of the castle, leaving Cedric standing on the shore, wondering what kind of damage he had done, and what kind of damage was to come.

--

A/N: Sorry for the _extremely_ long wait. School, exams, band, trying to find a job, and getting my license has eaten up all of my time. Thankfully, school here is over in two weeks, so I should have a huge amount of free time starting then. I know this chapter is really, really short, but that is because it just felt weird leaving this story hanging. I have many ideas for what to do after this, but it might take some time to type it up. Any suggestions? Reviews are always great! Hope everyone liked the chapter.


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